The present invention relates in general to drill press devices, and more particularly, to a novel drill press apparatus having a controlled power assisting feed mechanism and a vacuum holding system.
In a conventional drill press, a rack and pinion gear is typically used to linearly move the rotating drill chuck toward the work material. The rack and pinion system applies the force to the drill bit through said chuck. Said drill bit utilizes said force to bore through the work material. Unfortunately, a conventional drill press is often heavy, not portable, and unable to drill a hole onto a surface unless the work material is between the drill and drill press table or base. Even the commercially available drill press stands which utilize conventional hand held drill motors, exhibit the aforesaid undesirable features. Moreover, those commercially available drill presses which are reasonably portable rely upon a magnetic base or clamps for attachment, mounting, and holding. This unfortunately limits use to magnetically attachable materials such as steel or iron or tends to mark or deform the mounting surface respectfully.
The present art overcomes the prior art limitations by providing a drill motor and chuck combination which is mounted with a motor frame and linearly actuated via the force of a feed cylinder. Preferably, the feed cylinder is a pneumatically actuated cylinder but may also be hydraulic, electromagnetic, or a mechanical force actuator in alternative embodiments. Also, the drill motor is preferably a commercially available pneumatically operated hand held drill with attached chuck but may also be electrically or hydraulically actuated, whether commercially available or custom built for the present art. The linearly moveable motor frame is movably mounted onto or with a press frame. The present art further provides for quick and easy securing and removal of the press onto a surface via the action of a suction cup. The suction cup attachment method allows for non-deforming attachment and mounting to surfaces which are either magnetic or non-magnetic.
An alternative embodiment of the present invention places the feed cylinder at a base plate instead of a top plate. This alternative embodiment allows the feed cylinder to apply force to and move the work material toward the drill bit instead of the drill bit moving toward the work material. This alternative embodiment preferably secures the drill motor to the top plate of said press frame which also functions as a motor frame. Further alternative embodiments may utilize both a feed cylinder on the top plate and a feed cylinder on the base plate. In this configuration, typically the shaft of the air cylinder mounted on the base plate contains a shaft tip having a recess for drill bit clearance when the bit bores through the work material. Alternative embodiments may forego use of the shaft tip without departing from the scope of the present art.
The preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a lightweight and portable power assisted drill press apparatus which only requires compressed air for operation. A further embodiment of the present invention provides a unique suction cup base which allows for mounting on any surface capable of holding the vacuum of said suction cup. This alternative mounting method allows for power assisted drilling on surfaces which otherwise would require drilling by hand.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved power assisted drill press which in a preferred embodiment is capable of full operation from a pneumatic supply.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved power assisted drill press which is portable and capable of controllably feeding the drill or work material via a user's actuation.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved power assisted drill press having a suction cup base which is capable of attaching to any surface which can maintain the suction cup vacuum, even if the surface is not planar or flat.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved power assisted drill press which allows a person to operate the apparatus with a single hand when required.